New Law Would Stop “OffShoring” Payroll Practices in State Government

SPRINGFIELD, July 31, 2018 – Sen Andy Manar says a plan to bar the practice of concealing, or “offshoring,” governors’ payroll costs within state agencies is an example of lawmakers of both parties coming together to right a wrong on behalf of the taxpayers of Illinois, one of the new law’s chief sponsors said today.

“This is a sensible law and a victory for Illinois taxpayers. Now they will know exactly how much it costs to staff the governor’s office, regardless of political affiliation. This kind of lawmaking is what constituents expect us to do in Springfield,” said State Senator Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat and chairman of a key Senate budget committee.

The Truth in Hiring Act, signed into law today, would stop Illinois governors from concealing their staff’s salaries within state agency budgets – a practice that deceives taxpayers by suggesting a governor’s budget is smaller than it actually is.

Comptroller Mendoza

An initiative of Comptroller Susana Mendoza, the Truth in Hiring Act passed in both houses of the legislature with bipartisan support. It simply says that every employee who works in the governor’s office will be paid from the governor’s payroll. Their salaries will be counted in the governor’s budget and will not be pulled from agencies that are supposed to protect children and the elderly or put state troopers out patrolling highways.

Nearly 60 percent of employees working for Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office currently are paid by state agencies with funds intended for priorities such as economic development, public safety, and child protection.

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Gov Rauner, in signing the bill into law said, “The taxpayers of Illinois need to know how their money is being spent,” Rauner said.

The governor added that the same provisions that now apply to the governor’s office should apply to all the state’s Constitutional officers, “The state’s constitutional offices have an obligation to be accountable for their spending and this would be a major step toward achieving that goal.”

Offshoring payroll and hiding it in other agency budgets, to make the governor’s office look as if they had cut payroll costs has been utilized by Illinois governors, both Democratic and Republican, for years.

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